Display units used to display and illustrate merchandise must be inexpensive yet of relatively sturdy construction in order that a great many of the display units can be used while at the same time withstanding severe abuse so that the displayed commodities are retained in a predetermined display relationship. An additional requirement for display units is that they have a capacity sufficiently large to permit sufficient numbers of the unit to be shown at one time so that the store management does not continually have to replenish the supply of its displayed articles. Stocking and restocking problems are alleviated by having a large capacity display unit. On the other hand, when the display units become too large, often they become subject to unwanted flex and/or sway problems thereby resulting in accidental tipping or tilting which is undesirable.
Prior art display units which are available generally have one or more of the above mentioned problems, that is capacity which is small so that frequent restocking is required or alternatively larger capacity, but a flimsy construction so that the displayed merchandise is often bumped or jostled from the display.
A prior art device described and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,459 issued May 22, 1979 discloses a display unit which obviates the foregoing problems and in addition provides an automatic feed of the displayed item to the front of the display unit when the customers remove items for purchase. However, the nature of the mounting mechanism of the device disclosed in the aforementioned patent is such that it is difficult to mount side-by-side display units.
The subject invention obviates all the problems of the prior art discussed with respect to stocking and restocking problems, flimsy construction as well as insufficient storage capacity and also solves the problem of difficulty in mounting side-by-side display units on the fixtures described and claimed in the aforementioned U.S. patent.